António Guterres, the former prime minister of Portugal, is in line to be the next leader of the United Nations.

Guterres will take the top job at the global organization in Jan. 2017, according to a UN Security Council recommendation released on Wednesday.

Guterres served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, later acting as the UN high commissioner for refugees from 2005 to 2015. He was largely responsible for early UN efforts in tackling the refugee crisis. He founded the Portuguese Refugee Council in 1991.

In an Oct. 5 vote by the 15 members of the UN Security Council, none were found to oppose Guterres for current UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's successor. In a vote of encourage, no opinion or discourage for each potential candidate, Guterres received 13 encourage votes and two no opinion votes.

An official UN General Assembly vote is set to take place Thursday, Oct. 13 to secure Guterres as Mr. Ban's successor, though no general assembly vote has ever gone against a UN Security Council endorsement.

The announcement came much sooner than expected, as secretary-general elections usually last until late October or early November. At a press conference announcing the recommendation, the audience seemed vocally surprised, though Russian UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Guterres was a "clear favorite," according to the BBC.

Guterres will become the ninth man to head the United Nations, a move that surprised many following the election and the subsequent push for a woman to take the helm of the 76-year-old intergovernmental organization.

Throughout the election, there was mass vocal support from outside and within the UN to have a woman succeed Mr. Ban as secretary-general, an attempt to advance gender equality in one of the world's most high-profile leadership positions. In August, Mr. Ban voiced his support for a female successor, saying "it's high time now" that a woman hold the position.

El Salvador's president Salvador Sanchez Ceren addresses the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters on Sept. 22.

Image: Richard Drew/AP

An informal precedent of regional rotation in the election suggested that a successor for Mr. Ban should come from Eastern Europe, as no leader had ever originated from that region. Guterres, however, hails from Portugal, which is in Southwestern Europe, also lending to the surprise.

As secretary-general, Guterres will serve for a five-year term that can technically be renewed indefinitely, though no secretary-general has served longer than two terms — an informal custom of the position, but not a hard-and-fast rule.

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